How to be happy

The equation of happiness

Let's imagine a happiness meter, calibrated so that if we measure the happiness of everyone on earth, the average happiness is exactly 0. If you get -1, you are sadder than average, and if you get +4, you are much happier than average.

Then we can imagine an "equation of happiness": given a person P's genes, memories, current job, current activity, friends, etc, predict what their happiness is.

Happiness(P) = ?

Well, to start with, we can do the laziest thing possible:

Happiness(P) = 0

After all, that's the global average. Can't be too wrong! But that's boring. What is interesting is to account for the variation of happiness level between people. So let's try that. What accounts for variation in happiness?

Next, remember that people seem to have a set level of happiness that they return to after a while. Good things make them happier than the set level, and bad things make them less, but they always return to it.

Happiness(P) = SetLevel(P's personality) + EventsHappiness(P's history)

Next, remember the general lesson: for personality traits, usually half is based on genes, half based on environment. 

Happiness(P) = 0.5 GeneScore(P's genes) 

+ 0.5 EnvScore(P's environment) 

+ EventsHappiness(P's history)

And we have a fairly workable model of happiness! 

Actually, the current best model for happiness is roughly this:

Happiness(P) = 0.5 GeneScore(P's genes) 

+ 0.1 CircumstanceScore(P's circumstance) 

+ 0.4 ActivityScore(P's activity)

where "circumstance" stands for

the national, geographical, and cultural region in which a person resides, as well as demographic factors such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Circumstantial factors also include the individual’s personal history, that is, life events that can affect his or her happiness, such as having experienced a childhood trauma, being involved in an automobile accident, or winning a prestigious award. Finally, circumstantial factors include life status variables such as marital status, occupational status, job security, income, health, and religious affiliation.

and "activity" stands for things that you do intentionally, non-automatically. Some activities particularly useful for happiness include meditation, exercise, practicing a valued skill, helping others without asking for reward.

Let's breakdown will like George Ainslie

Breakdown of Will (2001) is a book about breaking down will, that is, dissecting the idea of a "will" and show how will is made from little pieces. The book is too long for me to read because I'm a very busy pony, so I'll just read summarize fro Précis of Breakdown of Will (2005).

BTW, Ainslie's breakdown of will has no relation to Jaynes' breakdown of the bicamel mind, but the name really reminds me of the breakdown, which is how I came to notice Ainslie's breakdown of will theory. I'm such a nihilist, I just can't stop myself from finding another thing to breakdown.

The author, George Ainslie, is most famed for his discovery of hyperbolic discounting in Specious reward: A behavioral theory of impulsiveness and impulsive control (1975).

People devalue a given future event at different rates, depending on how far away it is. This phenomenon means that our preferences are inherently unstable and entails our present selves being pitted against what we can expect our future selves to want.

"Discounting" means that humans prefer the same reward to come sooner. The \$100 that comes in a month seems to be less attractive than the \$80 that comes today. This is a very reasonable assumption, for two reasons:

1. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.
2. \$80 today can be invested and turned into \$100 by the end of the month. Though to be realistic, the average return on capital is just 5%/year.